Wirelessly transmitting large volumes of information at high data rates in certain environments, such as underwater, is becoming increasingly important for applications such as environmental monitoring and petroleum exploration and maintenance. As an example, interest in optical communication between undersea assets has increased because such optical communications can, at short ranges (10 m-100 m), provide much higher data rates than acoustic communications. The blue-green spectrum is used because seawater exhibits maximal transmission in this region, but local water conditions can vary the ideal wavelength significantly. Clear ocean waters best transmit blue light sources (around 475 nm), while turbid coastal waters best transmit green light sources (around 550 nm).
If an asset is equipped with either of these configurations, but is used in different locations, large optical losses will be incurred or excessive power consumption may be required to compensate for increased signal error. A need exists for a system and method that can adapt to dynamic conditions within a desired operating environment to optimize the optical communication channel between equipment with reduced errors and high data rates.